Birthday
by dulciwik
Summary: It's Harry's first birthday! Based on Lily's letter to Sirius that Harry finds at Grimmauld Place in the 7th book. Featuring: Lily, James, and baby Harry. One-shot.


Birthday

AN: This is my first fan fiction. I wrote it as an assignment for my Harry Potter class, and got an A on it. It is based off of Lily's letter to Sirius that Harry finds in the seventh book.

It was a quiet summer's day in late July. A young couple and their child sat on a rug in the living room of their cottage in Godric's Hallow. Shredded wrapping paper and new toys littered the floor. The woman reached off to the side and picked up the remaining gift.

"Last one, Harry!" Lily said cheerfully to her infant son as she handed him a wrapped present.

"That one's from your Uncle Sirius," James added with a smile.

Harry took the present with a happy gurgle, crinkling the paper with his chubby baby hands. He gripped the edge of the wrapping and pulled away strips of tiny ripped pieces, laughing as he did so. After a while, he grew tired of waiting to open his present and looked up at his mother with a silent plea for help.

"Do you need a little help, darling?" Lily asked her son, as she tore off the paper just enough so that Harry would be able to open it himself.

Harry smiled in thanks and finally got to what he had been waiting for. He pulled the paper aside to reveal a toy broomstick. "Ooh!" Harry exclaimed in surprise and clapped his hands in delight.

James and Lily laughed at his reaction. "Want to have a go, Harry?" James asked. He grabbed the broom, letting it hover two feet above the ground, and helped Harry onto it.

Harry zoomed off, roaring with laughter and flying in every direction. James was quick to react as he jumped to his feet and chased after him, chuckling at his son's obvious enjoyment. Lily followed them, levitating the camera behind her, desperately trying to capture the moment and get a picture with all three of them but having some difficulty as Harry flew back and forth across the room. She flicked her wand and the camera took a series of shots; she hoped at least one of them would turn out.

"Got it! I think," Lily told James over Harry's boisterous laughter.

"We'll have to send one to Padfoot," he looked over at his wife and they shared a sweet smile. They then returned their attention to their son just in time to see him narrowly escape a crash with the cat and only because the cat jumped out of the way just in time. They breathed a collective sigh of relief, which soon turned into a panicked, "Watch out, Harry!"

They watched as Harry bumped into a side table holding the vase Petunia had given them for Christmas and saw it smash as it hit the floor. James exploded with laughter.

"Look at that, our son, future Quidditch player extraordinaire! Just like your father, isn't that right, Harry?"

They watched as their son played and eventually tired himself out before they put him down for a nap, giving them a few hours of quiet.

"I'm glad Harry enjoyed all of his presents. I think the broomstick is his favorite," Lily said to James.

"I agree. Padfoot did well. He'll be pleased that Harry likes it so much. I wish he could have been here today."

"The Order needed him," Lily said gently. She knew how difficult it was for James to be separated from his best friend.

"I know. I'm just getting a little stir crazy, that's all. I need a little adventure. Dumbledore still has my cloak so I can't go out at all."

"Why does he still have your cloak, anyway? What's taking him so long?"

"I've no idea. If I had known he would have it this long, I wouldn't have lent it to him in the first place."

"Hmm, I'm sure he'll give it back soon," Lily said, "Speaking of Dumbledore, do you believe what Bathilda said? About him being friends with Gellert Grindelwald, I mean?"

"I don't know what to think about that. Maybe she's losing her mind in her old age," James joked, flashing her a devious smile.

"I feel bad saying it, but I was thinking the same thing," Lily said with a small laugh, "It was sweet of her to stop by earlier for tea. I think Harry likes seeing a new face every once in a while. And she does adore him. Plus, she does tell some interesting stories, true or not."

"Hear, hear," James agreed, "She is entertaining; that's for sure. And a bit of a bright spot, too. Keeping us company and distracting us from all the terrible things going on."

"I still can't believe the news about the McKinnons. Peter seemed so down about it when he was last here, too," Lily looked distraught.

"I know what you mean. Let's not think of those things, yeah? Should we think about the good ol' days, Head Girl?" James gave a little smile to cheer up his wife.

"Do you mean our Hogwarts days, Head Boy? I still can't believe Dumbledore made you Head Boy," Lily said.

"Oh, but you're glad he did. I know it. We wouldn't have gotten together otherwise and we wouldn't have celebrated our son's first birthday today either. Good old Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and secret matchmaker."

Lily laughed, "Do you think that's partially why he did it? That's a funny thought. I wish I knew if that were true."

"Well, it certainly gave me some responsibility and helped me to act a bit more mature." Lily snorted in response. "Hey, I did act more mature!" said James, defensively. "Anyway, it certainly gave us a lot of time together to get to know each other."

"And then we joined the Order. Do you ever regret it?"

"No. Do you?" James asked.

"I don't know. I was just thinking today. If we hadn't joined the Order, a dark wizard would not be after our son and we probably wouldn't be in hiding either."

"You don't know that for sure," James said, concern evident in his voice.

"I feel guilty sometimes. Like I made a choice that's affecting him in a bad way and anything that happens because of it is my fault," tears filled her eyes as she spoke.

"Hey, don't think like that. We are doing this for him, to make a better world. He'll understand. He'll know that if anything bad happens that we were doing this for him and he won't hold it against us. He'll be proud of us for being so brave," he gave an encouraging smile.

Lily wiped her eyes, "You're right for once," she stuck her tongue out playfully. "No more tears today. Harry will be up soon and we'll have cake and ice cream and enjoy our time together."

"That sounds like a plan," James said.

Just then, they heard the sounds of their little boy waking up. They went together to fetch him and enjoyed the rest of the day together, as a family. For they both knew, there may not be many joyous days left.


End file.
